The story of the Central Park Five youth has been recently revived by Ava DuVernay's compelling miniseries When They See Us. The series revisited the tragic events wherein five Black & Brown youth were wrongfully arrested and jailed for the brutal rape of a Central Park jogger. While the series has sparked outrage across social media and call for justice to be rightfully served to the underlying culprits, a recent report by New York Times now indicates it has inspired the formulation of an opera. According to the aforementioned news outlet, a jazz-infused new opera was launched by creators Anthony Davis and Richard Wesley surrounding the Central Park Five story. The show premiered this past Saturday at the Warner Grand Theatre and was met with positive reviews.
The story of the Central Park Five now stems from roughly 30 years ago, yet its resurgence into the public discourse is timely. In a time wherein the unarmed killings of minorities at the hands of police is still very real, it is important to shed light on the harmful effects of racial discrimination as it seeps into the inner workings of the justice system. The Opera recreates the story and includes all key characters which include Donald Trump, who called for the death penalty onto these youth back in the day.